130 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
gilded roof. This splendid apartment looked out, 
through verandas that flanked it on either side, into 
a spacious area surrounded by trees planted at near 
intervals, the whole being again encircled by a strong 
palisade of bamboo. 
The splendour of the entertainment sufficiently con- 
firmed what we had heard of the princely hospitality 
of the Newaub. He received us very graciously, and 
after having done full justice to his sumptuous pro- 
vision, we all repaired to the veranda to see a spe- 
cimen of those elephant fights for which Lucknow has 
been long celebrated. They were announced as about 
to commence by three strokes given at unequal inter- 
vals on a gong, in order to distinguish this signal from 
the regular striking of the hour. We had scarcely 
placed ourselves in such a situation as afforded us the 
most commanding view of the arena, when a female 
elephant, followed by two horsemen well mounted 
and armed with long spears, was conducted into the 
enclosure. As soon as she reached the centre she 
looked about her with an apparent complacency that 
seemed to express a consciousness of the scene which 
was about to follow ; and to my fancy there was a 
sort of smiling glance occasionally cast from her small 
twinkling eye, though every other part of her coun- 
tenance was as rigid as a piece of unpolished horn. 
She stood all but motionless, merely now and then 
flapping her ears and slightly twisting her trunk, 
when two enormous male elephants were admitted 
by different entrances, and, upon seeing the female, 
both proceeded briskly towards her ; but as soon as 
